Calorie Poor, Flavor Rich

January 23, 1986|By Dorothy Chapman

THE NEWEST additions to the extensive Weight Watchers line of frozen dinners are Imperial Chicken, Stuffed Turkey Breast and Beef Salisbury Steak Romana. Each contains less than 300 calories per portion. The Imperial Chicken entree is packaged in two plastic pouches and is ready in just 15 minutes when heated in boiling water and in 5 to 6 minutes when cooked in a microwave oven. The Stuffed Turkey Breast comes in a single-serving tray and can be prepared in the microwave oven in 5 to 6 minutes. Beef Salisbury Steak Romana is packaged in a single-serving tray and is ready in 11 to 12 minutes when cooked in the microwave.

REWORKING THE WAXED BAG

WAXTEX MICROWAVE Convenience Bags are a new product spawned by the boom in microwave oven cooking and the American penchant for convenience foods and snacks. The waxed paper bags feature wider sides that provide three times more cubic inches of interior space than the typical waxed or plastic sandwich bag, according to the manufacturer. Whether the snack food to be microwaved is a wedge of pizza, an oversized Danish, a giant muffin or a buttered ear of corn, it will heat through without the bag melting or sticking to the hot food. Foods of more substance -- single-portion entrees like a fish fillet or a chicken breast -- cooked in a Waxtex bag reportedly retain flavors and juices without the need for butter or oil. Waxtex Microwave Convenience Bags come packed 60 to a box.

CALCIUM-FORTIFIED FLOUR

GOLD MEDAL now fortifies its flour line with calcium to provide a dietary bonus in baked items. Two slices of homemade bread using the fortified flour provide 96 mg. of calcium. Two slices of bread baked with no added calcium in the flour yield only 14.5 mg. Recommended Dietary Allowance for calcium, essential in the development and maintenance of strong bones and teeth, is 1200 mg. per day for teens and 800 mg. for adults.

NEW TRIO FROM LEAN CUISINE

STOUFFER'S HAS added three new entrees to its Lean Cuisine line. Tuna Lasagna with Spinach Noodles and Vegetables (260 calories) is composed of tuna and al dente spinach lasagna noodles layered with yellow squash, red peppers, shoestring carrots, three kinds of cheese and a light herb-seasoned sauce. It's topped with Parmesan cheese-seasoned bread crumbs. Veal Primavera (250 calories) is a combination of veal medallions, button mushrooms, asparagus, yellow squash and sweet red peppers in an herb-seasoned Stroganoff sauce served over vermicelli and garnished with a touch of parsley. Turkey Dijon (280 calories) is sliced turkey medallions in mustard sauce with zucchini strips and shoestring carrots. Herbs, spices and bread crumbs top off this dish.

AN UPDATED TRAIL MIX FROM POST

A NEW BREED of trail mix, promising unique taste and texture, is arriving on supermarket shelves. Post Horizon Trail Mix cereal -- based on traditional trail-mix recipes -- combines a light, crisp cluster of three grains, chewy chunks of fruit and crunchy nuts. Post says the combination of wholesome ingredients and the rough-hewn texture adds up to a cereal that has dual appeal as a snack and a breakfast food. Post Horizon Trail Mix cereal is sold in 10-ounce packages.